1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image information transmission device such as a facsimile machine for transmitting image information to remote devices.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been proposed a system, in which an information provider responds to a request from a remote user, and supplies the requested information to the remote user using a facsimile transmission procedure. For example, the remote user calls the information provider (facsimile machine) and the facsimile machine plays a verbal message indicating what numbers the user wishes to press to receive what type of information. The user, after listening to this verbal guidance, presses numbers for the information he or she wishes to receive.
In another method, the user can directly designate the number of information he or she wishes to receive without any verbal guidance. This method uses one of several facsimile transmission application functions that uses sub-address (SUB) commands and selective polling (SEP) commands according to a transmission protocol defined by ITU-T (International Telecommunications Union-T). This facsimile transmission application function will be referred to as xe2x80x9cF(facsimile)-code functionxe2x80x9d hereinafter.
Communication Industry Association of Japan has defined a transmission format termed F-code bulletin board service that uses this F-code function. According to this F-code bulletin board service, an information provider has a memory having a plurality of boxes (memory regions), each of which stores different information. A remote user (information requester) accesses the information provide, and directly designates the box number, indicative of a desired memory, using a selective polling. (SEP) command according to a predetermined selective-polling transmission protocol. This enables the information provider to retrieve information from the designated box and transmits the information to the information requester through a facsimile transmission procedure.
According to this F-code bulletin board service, however, only facsimile machines that have a function corresponding to the selective-polling transmission procedure can access the information. Remote devices, that have no function corresponding to the selective-polling transmission procedure, may not access the information. Those remote devices can access the information only by using verbal guidance. It is, however, difficult for remote users to know whether or not he/she should use the verbal guidance.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide an improved image information transmission device that can reliably provide information to a remote user (information requester) regardless of whether the information requester uses a transmission procedure that relies on verbal guidance or another transmission procedure that does not rely on verbal guidance.
In order to attain the above and other objects, the present invention provides an image information transmission device, comprising: storage means for storing image information; receiving means for receiving a request signal from a remote communication device; first judging means for judging whether the request signal is transmitted according to a facsimile communication process or according to a telephone communication process; first transmission means for, when the request signal is according to the facsimile communication process, retrieving image information, corresponding to the request signal, from the storing means and for transmitting the image information to the remote communication device; and second transmission means for, when the request signal is according to the telephone communication process, retrieving image information. corresponding to the request signal, from the storing means and for transmitting the image information to the remote communication device.
The request signal according to the facsimile communication process may include a selective polling signal indicative of desired image information, and the request signal according to the telephone communication process may include a dial signal indicative of desired image information.
The first judging means may judge whether or not the request signal includes a calling tone signal, the first judging means determining that the request signal is according to the facsimile communication process when the request signal includes a calling tone signal, the first judging means determining that the request signal is according to the telephone communication process when the request signal includes no calling tone signal.
The second translation means may include: verbal guidance means for supplying, when the first judging means determines that the request signal is according to the telephone communication process, verbal guidance information to the remote communication device, the verbal guidance information indicating a manner how to designate desired image information, thereby allowing the remote commutation device to designate the desired image information and to transmit a designation signal indicative of the designated image information: and means for retrieving image information, designated by the designation signal, from the storing means and for transmitting the retrieved image information to the remote commutation device. The designation signal may be a dial signal (DMF) indicative of the designated image information.
According to another aspect, the present invention provides a data storage medium for storing a computer program for controlling an image information transmission device, which has a, storage portion storing image information, to transmit the image information to a remote communication device in response to a request signal transmitted therefrom, the computer program comprising; a judging computer program of judging, upon receipt of a request signal transmitted from a remote communication device, whether the request signal is transmitted according to a facsimile communication process or according to a telephone communication process: a first transmission computer program of, when the request signal is according to the facsimile communication process, retrieving image information corresponding to the request signal, from the storage portion and transmitting the image information to the remote communication device; and a second transmission computer program of, when the request signal is according to the telephone communication process, retrieving image information, corresponding to the request signal, from the storage portion and transmitting the image information to the remote communication device.